Chapter 496

Chapter 496: Destruction and Struggle

Midi’s question hung in the air unanswered.

Simon’s mind had gone completely blank.

He’d finally realized the truth—those terrifying Black Flames surrounding Midi were Dragon Flames! Only such flames could destroy his dragon-scale protective necklace so quickly.

Simon knew he was finished—utterly and completely.

Not only was he no match for Midi in combat, but even negotiation had become impossible. He’d foolishly believed his dual status as Death Scorpion family’s core disciple and the family head’s son would deter Midi.

But now? Midi had slaughtered every fighter present. No witnesses remained to spread rumors of this battle. Even if word leaked, it meant nothing now—a fighter wielding Dragon Flames held more value than ten chief core disciples. The Death Scorpion family would undoubtedly throw full support behind Midi once they learned of this power.

If only Alexis hadn’t goaded him into this reckless attack… Bitter regret and anger flooded Simon’s heart, but it changed nothing. The cold finality in Midi’s gaze told him mercy wouldn’t come.

"Extract the Black Dragon Remnant Token?" Zaknavan asked, having grown accustomed to Midi’s methods. Though Simon’s doomed team possessed over 150,000 Black Flame Coins—every bit mattered in this resource war. No windfalls here, just steady accumulation of advantages.

"Obviously." Midi’s confident smile widened. "But that’s not why I kept him breathing."

Mason leaned closer. "Then…?"

"Gather the Worker Bees, Soldier Bees, and Flying Eyes." Midi’s eyes locked on the distant horizon where Thor’s base lay. "We’re visiting Simon’s camp. Time for field tests."

Simon’s pathetic surprise attack became mere background noise in Midi and Thor’s greater conflict. Yet Thor noticed everything.

The "Warrior" found inspiration in Simon’s failure. Midi’s forces had grown stronger after seizing Simon’s token, widening the existing gap between them. Thor’s personal combat strength meant little in this war of resources.

The clock was ticking. Once Midi accessed high-level exchange lists, his advantage would become irreversible. Soon he’d swarm Thor’s base with alchemical automatons.

Thor had to strike first.

Of course, there was no chance of victory against Midi. Trying to catch a flying opponent who moved so swiftly seemed nearly impossible.

The total annihilation of Simon’s group had shown Midi’s battle strength. Aside from Thor himself, no other opponent could threaten him.

Instead of attacking Midi directly, Thor decided to strike at the heart of the resource war.

“Destroy all the steam springs under Midi’s control!” Thor ordered without hesitation.

This was a logical decision.

Midi had only four fighters, while Thor commanded six – himself, four core disciples ranked second to fourth, and two fighters who’d won their places through selection.

These fighters weren’t much help during regular resource gathering. They lacked training in leading large legions and the necessary strategic knowledge. Worse, nobody could teach them.

But in sabotage missions? The Death Scorpion family members, already trained in teamwork, would become devastating.

With just four defenders, Midi couldn’t protect his scattered Black Crystal Steam Springs. Any mistake might lead to deadly ambushes. Even if Midi retaliated, Thor believed his elite Death Scorpion fighters would crush Midi’s makeshift team.

In pure resource competition, Thor was losing ground. But combining resources with military force? That would change everything.

“Slow their black crystal harvesting! Crush their development! Kill those small-family fighters if you get the chance!” Thor’s smile turned cruel. “Let’s see whose power prevails!”

The brief peace in Black Crystal Forest shattered. This time, the battles weren’t against Crimson Beasts, but between fighters themselves.

Thor’s assault dwarfed Simon’s bungled attempts. Within hours, multiple Black Crystal Steam Springs fell – along with their Steel Ladybugs and Rhinoceros Beetles. Every Worker Bee or Soldier Bee in Thor’s path got eliminated.

Midi’s black crystal production plummeted like a waterfall.

Then the counterstrike came.

To Thor’s shock, Midi didn’t retaliate by destroying steam springs. Instead, he attacked with swarms of Worker and Soldier Bees, stealing Thor’s steam springs through some unknown method!

Now Thor destroyed Midi’s springs while Midi stole Thor’s. The balance meant Midi’s production only slowed slightly – stealing took longer than destroying. But Thor’s output nosedived with no way to recover losses.

Midi escalated by ambushing saboteurs at a steam spring. The skirmish left one fighter lightly injured and two severely wounded. Without Thor’s timely intervention, his team might’ve been reduced from six to four.

Now it was four against four. Midi kept Thor occupied while their teams clashed. Destruction of Midi’s springs slowed, but his thefts continued unabated.

After days, Midi lost a few springs while Thor lost entire clusters. The gap widened catastrophically.

Forced to defend, Thor faced expulsion from Crystal Dragon Fortress before the high-level exchange list even opened. He couldn’t fathom how Midi had learned to seize enemy facilities.

The answer lay with Simon. Midi couldn’t decipher the alchemical automatons’ mechanisms through theory alone. But with a captive “enemy” to experiment on, he discovered how opposing factions’ automatons interacted.

Soldier Bees killed guardian beasts, Worker Bees harvested crystals. By adapting this system to target enemy automatons instead, Midi could claim Thor’s infrastructure for his Black Dragon Remnant Token.

Prepared thus, how could Midi lose?

Checking his Black Flame Coin count via the token, Midi smiled. “One more day’s accumulation unlocks the high-level exchange list.”